Lesser of two evils ?

[Mad4slalom]

Hi all, having read that the starter motors on the c3’s can suffer from heat issues it got me thinking.
I was told by the vendor of my 72 to spin the motor over for ten or fifteen seconds to build oil pressure prior to pumping the throttle pedal to get some fuel into the motor and it firing. . I could prolong the life of the starter by pumping gas pedal and starting the car sooner but would I be wearing the piston rings and bores? What is a reasonable length of time for the car to stand and to be started instantly without waiting for oil pressure to build?

 

[Daytona Vette]

If the oil has had the time to drain to the bottom of the sump, turn the engine over a few times to get the oil round and pressure up - watch the gauge - don't worry about the life of the starter motor, worry about the internal components of the engine possibly moving without lubrication

The Heat issue on the Starter Motor is due to its proximity to the Headers, which get very hot - get an aluminum Heat Shield between the Starter and Headers, do not wrap the Starter Motor in an Heat Blanket

 

[kentvette]

Our '78 starts from absolute cold after exactly 5 seconds of cranking and, at that time the oil pressure gauge shows full pressure for the revs. Once warm, it starts instantly usually and the pressure comes up almost immediately.

I was told some years ago that starters shouldn't really spin for more than about 5 seconds at a time, so mine is about OK!

I fill the oil filter before fitting it when doing an oil change and that helps that dreaded wait for pressure to build on the first start - it comes up after a second or two at most.

Headers were the worst thing fitted to our car and they went as soon as I could source a set of original manifolds! Suddenly, a quieter car, cooler car inside, more space to service it under the bonnet and from underneath (try taking out that starter with headers) and, of course, improved lower end performance, as I want for our "cruiser".

 

[Mad4slalom]

If the oil has had the time to drain to the bottom of the sump, turn the engine over a few times to get the oil round and pressure up - watch the gauge - don't worry about the life of the starter motor, worry about the internal components of the engine possibly moving without lubrication

The Heat issue on the Starter Motor is due to its proximity to the Headers, which get very hot - get an aluminum Heat Shield between the Starter and Headers, do not wrap the Starter Motor in an Heat Blanket

If the oil has had the time to drain to the bottom of the sump, turn the engine over a few times to get the oil round and pressure up - watch the gauge - don't worry about the life of the starter motor, worry about the internal components of the engine possibly moving without lubrication

The Heat issue on the Starter Motor is due to its proximity to the Headers, which get very hot - get an aluminum Heat Shield between the Starter and Headers, do not wrap the Starter Motor in an Heat Blanket

Fine, thanks, that is what I have been doing. Once hot it fires up hardly spinning one turn of the engine. But if i leave it say twenty mins then i need to pump the gas as i guess the fuel in the bowl has percolated away.

 

[Daytona Vette]

Fine, thanks, that is what I have been doing. Once hot it fires up hardly spinning one turn of the engine. But if i leave it say twenty mins then i need to pump the gas as i guess the fuel in the bowl has percolated away.

Needing to pump after only 20 mins should only be when engine is up to running temp and a very hot day - vapourisation of the fuel made worse by the Ethanol constituent in the Fuel mix - Use Esso Synergy Supreme +99 see below Snippet from www.Esso.co.uk

What’s in our Synergy Supreme+ 99 premium petrol​

Our Synergy Supreme+ 99 petrol has more cleaning power than our regular petrol – and includes molecules whose job it is to reduce the friction in your engine helping the moving parts work more efficiently.*
Although our pumps have E5 labels on them, our Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, North England and Scotland). Legislation requires us to place these E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps.
There’s currently no requirement for renewable fuel, like ethanol, to be present in super unleaded petrol although this could change in the future, in which case we would comply with any new legislation.​

 

[Roscobbc]

Quote "If the oil has had the time to drain to the bottom of the sump, turn the engine over a few times to get the oil round and pressure up - watch the gauge - don't worry about the life of the starter motor, worry about the internal components of the engine possibly moving without lubrication"
The above says it all - it is simply good practice. As for heat issues/heat soak/underhood temperatures using headers..........there will be issues poentially with using headers - but not all installations will have the same issues. Some header/engine combinations may actually run cooler depending on layout and positions of header tubes. Stock manifolds are always a manufacturers comprimise between simplicity or manufacture/cost of manufacture/cost of installation/fuel economy and performance. There are two extremes - headers designed for maximum ground clearance - these may run very close to the floor pan and create major heat soak issues in to the footwells - and - headers designed for maximum efficiency, so equal length runners and possibly poor ground clearance.

 

[Daytona Vette]

I was told some years ago that starters shouldn't really spin for more than about 5 seconds at a time, so mine is about OK!

Yes do no sit there just spinning the starter for a long duration, I usually do three spins, nothing longer than two seconds each before I pump